HACKENSACK — Scores of divorce and civil trials in Bergen County have been suspended indefinitely due to judicial retirements and an ongoing political battle between the governor and Democratic state senators.

In a letter sent to the state bar association on Monday, Bergen County Assignment Judge Peter E. Doyne said that as of Sept. 15, all family and civil trials expected to last more than two weeks will not be conducted in Bergen County.

The reason, he said, is Bergen County's growing judicial vacancy rate. The county is allotted 36 judicial slots but is currently down six judges. It will only worsen by Sept. 1, when three more judges will be retiring from the bench, he said.

Doyne, through his clerk, refused to comment on the letter until it's published by the Office of Administrative Law. It remains unclear how many trials will be impacted by the decision.

In testifying before a state Assembly committee this past May, Doyne did offer a portrait of what a significantly leaner vicinage would look like in Bergen. With six judicial vacancies, an auto accident lawsuit could take up to 15 months from filing to final resolution, Doyne said, according to The Record. But with nine unfilled seats, it could take up to 28 months, he warned the committee.

The delay in trials may hit hardest in the county's family court, where cases that make it to the trial stage tend to be very contentious, said Alfredo Ramos Jr., a family law attorney with the Garfield law firm Tempio & Ramos LLC. Cases that aren't settled before trial — especially divorces involving wealthy individuals or child-custody cases — tend to take time to resolve, generally a year or two from start to finish, he said. The vacancies are likely to have an adverse effect, given the already hefty caseload and shortage of judges in the family division.

"There’s such a crunch of cases," he said. “Even before the vacancies, the court’s resources have been stretched thin.”

The judge's decision to suspend lengthy family and civil trials indefinitely was done "reluctantly," he said, writing in the letter that it's his "obligation to attempt to ensure this vicinage addresses the matters of as many litigants as we can within a reasonable time period."

Monday's edict will also impact criminal trials. With only three full-time judges in the criminal section as of Sept. 15, Doyne said he expects to have judges from family and civil hear criminal cases.

When asked about the reason for the vacancies, Michael Drewniak, a spokesman for Governor Christie, reminded that senators in the county need to agree on potential judges before the governor can nominate them.

"We are aware of the Superior Court vacancies in Bergen County and have been working with legislators to resolve issues and present nominees for consideration by the Senate Judiciary Committee," he said in an e-mail.

Democratic senators in Bergen County did not immediately return requests for comment on Monday.

Sen. Kevin O'Toole (R-Essex) said that judicial vacancies are not unique to Bergen County.

By September, New Jersey is looking at some 60 judicial vacancies, he said, and Essex County has the highest in the state with 21 vacancies. O'Toole said that there now seems to be recognition in the state legislature that action is needed to prevent an impending emergency in county courts.

"It's an epidemic,” he said. “People are now understanding that we have to move rapidly.”

O'Toole said that the high rates of vacancies are partially due to the inaction of some senators. In Essex County, Christie and state Senate Democrats have sparred over nominees for the last few years.

The two sides reached a deal in June over nominees, but the deal fell apart. Some lawmakers have hinted that the deal — which would bring eight judges to the county — may be back on the table.